Backyard Orchard News
A Tattered, Torn and Tired Monarch
First monarch butterfly sighting of the year. A tattered and torn monarch--a male (as identified...
A tattered, torn and tired monarch nectars on a salvia in the Kate Frey Pollinator Garden at Sonoma Cornerstone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarch stretches his wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Side view shows just how tattered and torn this male monarch is. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Check Out the Open Farm Day in Vacaville on Saturday, Aug. 4
What's life like on the farm? If you're looking for something to do on Saturday, Aug. 4, the...
You're likely to see lots of bees at the Open Farm Tour, especially in the Morningsun Herb Farm nursery. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A goat at the Morningsun Herb Farm readily accepts a carrot. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
From Out of the Blue Pops the Anthophora
From out the blue. And sometimes it's too good to be true. We were visiting the Sunset Gardens at...
First of four images: A digger bee, Anthophora urbana, heads for a Ageratum houstonianum 'Blue Horizon' at the Sunset Gardens, Sonoma Cornerstone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Second of four images: A digger bee, Anthophora urbana, heads for a Ageratum houstonianum 'Blue Horizon' at the Sunset Gardens, Sonoma Cornerstone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Third of four images: A digger bee, Anthophora urbana, heads for a Ageratum houstonianum 'Blue Horizon' at the Sunset Gardens, Sonoma Cornerstone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Fourth of four images: A digger bee, Anthophora urbana, heads for a Ageratum houstonianum 'Blue Horizon' at the Sunset Gardens, Sonoma Cornerstone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Beauty of a Western Tiger Swallowtail
One of the joys of planting a pollinator garden is watching majestic butterflies flutter in and sip...
A "very gravid" female Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) nectars on a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The gravid Western tiger swallowtail looks up from the butterfly bush. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This image of the gravid Western tiger swallowtail shows the enlarged abdomen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Orange and blue spots accent this yellow and black butterfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Remembering the Legendary Entomologist and Toxicologist Dr. John Casida
Graduate students and postdoctoral students that the legendary John Casida trained remember him...
Distinguished professor John Casida (center) with his former graduate students Sarjeet Gill (left), a distinguished professor at UC Riverside, and Bruce Hammock, a distinguished professor at UC Davis. This image was taken in 2016 at UC Berkeley.